When we got there the rangers had told us that we need to talk in a whisper and be very quiet. I think Pres and I both were quite worried about this, haha. Having three littles to try and keep quiet may be a large task, haha. Once we got to the bottom of the cave we told the boys that the bats were sleeping so they had to be very quiet so they wouldn't wake them up. Surprisingly this worked extremely well, haha. If anybody got to loud the boys were very quick to correct the one that was being too loud for the bats. We heard quite often, "Shhhh, the bats are sleeping," or we'd hear "Quiet bats." It just made us so happy with how well behaved the boys were throughout the entire trip. Quinn slept the majority of the time in the Bjorn which was a relief as well.
When you get down to the bottom and step off the elevator they tell you to go left which we did. We went around a path and entered a huge area where the ceilings were so high up. We noticed you could go straight, left or right. We started heading right where the sign read natural trail. We were having a lovely walk and before we knew it we started inclining quite a bit. I kept thinking that the cavern would look a little different then this but figured it must just be ahead. About half way on the path we realized we had gone the wrong way, haha. We were on the path leading us out of the cave rather than leading us around the different parts of the cavern. The path leading out of the cave is 1.25 miles and you are also going up 750 feet. It's basically a constant incline for over a mile. Once we realized we were on this path we decided to go ahead and finish it. As Elder Eyring has said, "If you are on the right path you are always going up." :)
I was wondering why we were the only ones going that way and why everyone was passing us on their way down, haha. I had Beckham with me and Pres had Quinn strapped to him and Jack on his shoulders for half of the way. Luckily, Beckham wanted to walk most of it until it got really steep and started turning into switch backs. Honestly, we were thrilled we ended up doing it this way because we got to see an entirely different part of the cave. When we told a worker of our mistake he said, "Oh that like never happens. No one usually gets confused on which way to go." Haha. Well apparently he hadn't met the Clarks :)
Borrowed this photo from the website
This is the natural entrance. We headed out rather than in :) It's so pretty. This is also where the bats fly out of. We didn't stay to see that because it would have been a few hours more and we were just doing a day trip.
Once we were back out of the cave we decided to break for lunch. In a normal day this would be the boys nap time so we weren't sure how they'd respond to us going back into the cave. We asked them if they wanted to go back to the cave or go home and they said, "CAVE!" After our meal I strapped Quinn on and we headed back down. This time making sure we went straight so we could see the actual cavern haha. We saw our sign that had mislead us before and noticed it said natural entrance trail which now clearly means that that's how you would get in and out of the cavern :)
The actual cavern was incredible! Such an amazing site to see. We are so grateful we went back down to see it. Jack LOVED it! He and Beckham walked the majority of this one as well. Beckham got tired about half way through so Pres held him and he fell asleep for the last half hour or so. Jack walked the entirety of it and Quinn slept once again :) Jackson enjoyed pointing out all of the "towers" and "icicles". It was fun watching Jackson and Beckham's excitement throughout the experience.
We had a 2.5 hour drive out to the caverns. Pres and I woke up a little before Quinn and the boys and got everything packed up so we could just head as soon as we got them dressed. We grabbed donuts for our drive and sandwiches for lunch.
A view of our drive.
We saw the highest point in Texas as well. This is called Guadalupe Peak. We made a stop at the visitor's center to use the bathroom and walk around for a minute. It was a perfect place for a quick break.
Grabbed a quick family pic as we headed onto the natural entrance trail. Little did we know what lied ahead :)
Heading on up. Jack looks real serious in this pic, haha. You can see by the rails how steep we were heading up the majority of the time though.
Me and my boy. The website warned us that it would be like 50 degrees at the bottom of the cave so we all brought sweatshirts. However, with our intense workout, Pres and I were like dripping sweat by the end, haha. The coolness of the cave made it a little easier to hike.
Lunch break
Enjoying lunch in the air conditioning and taking a few minutes to sit. You can tell by my face and hair that it was a pretty intense hike haha. So happy I wore my tennis shoes :)
After lunch we headed back into the cave.
We saw so many cool things as we walked around.
A couple more shots.
We borrowed this shot and the next from the website. This is called Doll's Theater.
Totem Pole
All smiles :)
On the way home we put a movie on for the boys and they got to pick a treat for being so awesome! They were in heaven!
That night when I went to bed I was curious as to what my Fitbit calculated. I hit all of my goals and then some, haha. Great day! The boys (and Mom & Dad) passed out as soon as their heads hit the pillow that night. I couldn't believe how much the kids could handle with such little legs and bodies. So proud of those two!
Daddy and his baby girl having a little chat. Oh my heart!
We are absolutely in love with Quinn. Here are a few more pictures from her 3 1/2 month photoshoot. We had so much fun!
Big smiles
XOXO
Little Princess
So in love
Little Miss Quinn Marie
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Those eyes
She is getting so big
"Are we done yet, Mom?" :)
We had such a blast this past week spending time together. We love taking little vacations and exploring the world around us. There is so much beauty everywhere and we are so grateful to have this incredible world to live in. Who knows where our next adventure may take us :)
